Display case



Dec. 8, 1953 F. s. HOLDERLE ET AL DISPLAY CASE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed. June 26, 1952 `INVENTOR FREDERICK s HOLDERLE HARVEY 0. R HULDERLE BY m7' F.' WHLDERLE TTREY l mw f. 1w. -m.m-:........wwwhul:&

Dec. 8, 1953 F. s. HOLDERLE ET AL 2,661,996

DISPLAY CASE Filed June 26, 1952. 2 sheets-sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. GK S. HOLDERLE li. HOLDE'RLE WHOLDERLE TTRNEY Patented Dec. 8, 1953 DISBLAY CASE;

Frederick. S.l Ivhilderle,l Harvey C. E; Holderle,and. NorbertR W2.,H'older1e, R'ochester,.N. Y.'

applicativa tousse, 1952;, senatrice. esame -This invention relates-toa display case, with moreY particular reference to.- the typefof case Ina more particular aspect; thefinventionhas for itsf object toY provide a construction in which looseY candy or other merchandise can. befhoused ini bins in such a manner that the candy in a particular bin is alorded a maximum display at theft-ront ot. the casefwhile portionsof thecandy can. be removed from; the rear. ofthe bin when soldwithout materially disturbing or. affecting the'v position ofthe' display body of material at the: front; and` at. the `same time; makingit easy for an. attendantY to rnix' andV freshen. the entire contents of abinwhenrelling at thev beginning of. each dayy orasrequired.

A further purpose4 o the invention; is to aftord aV novel. arrangement in; which a4v area of merchandise',` isV displayed; at.. the, iront.a of the case in proportion to the total volume of contents of. a. bin; and, accomplishing hy.r providing; the bottom; of. the case with a downwardly inclined portion at. its front: endwhioh tunctions tovv hold a large mass of merchandise; againstthatrans.- parent front wall; when'. the contents; in` the rear of theV bin; have. been partially.v depletedl..

Still. an additional. object of the invention: ist to provider.V a removable partition member-that can quickly' be adjustahly positioned to.. provide. a bin off any desired size. and' which when. irrposition is retained securely and cooperates with the-.bottom comme. (c1. 31a-,1m

Fig., 3 is an enlarged detail sectional, view taken generallyv on line 3-31 of Fig.. 2,A looking. in the direction indicated;

' Fig. 4L isany enlarged detail sectional view on line l1-410i 3, looking in the direction. indi.- cated;

Fig. 5 is an. enlarged, detail. sectional View in the same plane as Fig.. 3', and takenV at the. rear of the. case and partition member;

Fig. .dis an enlargeddetail sectional View online El-S of Ei`g15,.looking. in tledirection indicated;

isA alcletailperspective View of one of. the retaining.y .b.ars which. are located, at the front andrear off thecase, with reference tothe partition member;

Fig...8 isaltopplan View. of one of. the partition members;

Fig. 9. aview in. sidev eleva-tion of the. same;

Fig. is a view. infront elevation o f the. same., arldY 1 :is "und 11. is ad'iagrammatic side. elevation similar toria 1,.,snowingthepositionhi theoispiay body andtransparent frontpanel oi the; casegtofaiord V a container witha maximum display'area.

Another purpose; oithe invention; isa to. afford a display-'case that can be; readily cleaned.,A thus enhancing its; sanitaryl characteristics.; and in which the partition. members.: can he. instantly changed to diierentpositionsfand whenxonceadjusted are hel@ iirmlyrwithout; the. necessity of any removable.- ta-stening. devicest Tothese and other. ends,L the invention consists in theY construction and arrangement ofl parts that will appear. clearly from the; following; de.- scription f whenY read. in. conjunction withL thei` ac.- company-ing' drawingsthel novelA featuresbeing pointed outY in the claims following; the: specication.

In the; drawings:

Fig; 11 israiview. in side elevation illustrating a yshow case-constructed inaccordance with a 'preferredembodimentI of the invention;

Eig;v 2: is. a. irontl elevation of the. same;

oi candy. atthe front of the case when aportion of. the contents, at; theleal has been removed.

Referring more.. particularly to. the drawings in like, reference numerals throughout: the

several views refer to the same parts, the-case includes.A preferably., a: metal` framework kembracing. inclined front portions Iv which support a tiansparent.y or glass-.1 panel. 2; horizontal. top portions 3i which; support a horizontal'l transparent or. glass panel- 4 atftheftonrear vertical supporting-portions. 5,. andl bottoniside, Walls 6 that preferably extend: toI pointsl adjacent the front and rear supports. 'l and 8E uponwhichthe metal case isV mounted.. see` Eig.. 1.

The-front, support 11i. isl somewhat lower than thel rear: support. 3 as shown, to accommodate the frontportionzofA they case which extends to a pointi lower than the.: rear portion owingY to the frontpart of the; bottom of. the; case; being.- at a lower point: than, thea main bodyorv horizontal portion of-v the bottom wall'. The bottom wall which formed integral with the side. portions or'permanent'lyf connected thereto inV any: suitable fashion is; preferahlyrr off metal. and; includes a horizontalportiorr 9 that; has: atita forward end a, downwa.IdloffV inclined portion: Il which` forms an acute; anglet with the: transparent panel-i 2 and terminates: ini. a dishedaor, arcuate-shaped portion; I2: at its; frontA enit. affording. a: longitudinally arranged gutter that' can loey readily cleaned; to' maintain the case in a sanitary state.

The dished; portion t2 at they front end of the bottom Wall. terminates in a vertical. portiony t3 to whichais attached a frontfwall 14" that is con;- nected to a. horizontal portion. 115,. which rests upon the forward support 1, see Figs. l and 3, and is connected to a downwardly extending portion i3 terminating in a horizontal flange I1 that underlies a wooden base I8 to which the metal frame is attached. The horizontal portion 9 of the bottom wall terminates at its rear end in a vertical ange i9 to which is secured a rearwardly and upwardly inclined portion 2| terminating in a downwardly inclined portion 22 and tray 23 in rear of the supports 5 for convenience in handling candy or other materials when placing them in or removing them from the display case.

In order to house candy, nuts, or other materials in the case in bins of adjustable size, there are provided a multiplicity of partition members each of which is constructed as shown in Figs. 8 to 10 and includes a vertical wall comprising a generally horizontal portion 2li the lower edge of which conforms to and rests on the horizontal portion 3 of the bottom and a downwardly inclined front portion 25 at its forward end, the lower edge of which conforms to and rests on the downwardly inclined portion il of the bottom, while its upper edge conforms to and is located in juxtarelaticn to the transparent panel 2.

The horizontal portion 211 is provided at its lower edge with a laterally extending flange 2B that rests on the horizontal portion 9 of the bottom wall, and the forward downwardly inclined portion 25 of the partition member is provided at its lower edge with a flange 2'? which extends in a direction opposite to the iiange 23 and rests on the downwardly inclined portion 'i i of the bottom wall. Thus the anges 25 and 2l support the partition member with its bottom edge conforming to the horizontal portion and the downwardly inclined portion of the bottom wall.

In order to maintain the several partition members in any desired position to vary the sizes of the respective bins, the partition members are The retaining bar 28 is provided with a series of s vertically extending arcuate recesses or pockets 29, see Fig. 7, and designates a similar retaining bar extending endwise of the case and secured at the rear of the bottom wall 3 against the vertical attaching portionl 32 of the rearwardly extending portion 2i, and the retaining bar 3l is also provided with a series of arcuate recesses or pockets 33 which are vertically disposed, the curved pockets 2% and 33 at the front and rear of the case acting to hold a partition member in any selected position in which it is arranged, depending upon the size of the bin to be provided.

To effect this, the flange 23 of each partition member, see Fig. 6, is formed at its rear end with an arcuate or curved edge 34 that conforms to the curvature of pockets 33 in the retaining bar 3i and fits therein, the iiange 26 being out away as at 35 forwardly of the retaining bar so that when the partition member has been inserted into locked position at the front of the case, the rear end of the partition member including the curved portion 3d of flange 2E is brought into locking engagement with the selected recess 33 by a downward movement and when flange 23 is resting on the bottom wall ofthe case, the curved recess 33 in conjunction with the curved portion 34 on ange 26 prevents lateral movement of the partition member and holds it securely in adjusted position.

The partition member is positioned by initially moving its front end forwardly into locking engagement with the retaining bar 2S and for this purpose, the partition member is provided at its forward end with a curved portion 36, see Fig. 9. that conforms to the dished portion I2 and ter minates in a horizontal shoulder 3'! that underlies the retaining bar 28, and a vertical portion 33 that abuts the inner surface of a recess 23 at its shallowest portion and when the front end of the partition wall is in this position, it is held against lateral movement by the arcuate recess 29.

Each partition member is inserted in any desired position by rst moving its front end forwardly until it is interlocked as just described with the retaining bar 28 after which the rearv end of the partition member is moved downwardly into locking relation with the retaining bar 3l at the rear of the horizontal portion of the bottom wall, and to remove a partition member, it is first lifted at its rear end, reversing the operation just described.

During positioning or removal of -a partition member, the slight upward movement of the rear of the partition member is permitted by the yielding and flexibility of the glass panel 2 and the partition member, very slight pressure being required for the assembling or removal operation, and when in adjusted position, the top dege 35i of the downwardly inclined portion of the partition member is in juxtarelation to or in contact with the inner surface of the inclined glass panel 2. When positioned in the manner described, the partition members are insufficiently close relation to the front glass panel 'of the case to hold candy, nuts, or other material within the bin afforded between two partition members which may be positioned to afford any desired width of bin. With this arrangement, when candy or other y. material is filled in at the front of the case, the

space afforded above the inclined portion H of the bottom wall is completely filled up to the top of the partition member, thus affording an attractive display of the contents through the transparent front panel. This display material extends to the top of the partition member, and as the contents of the bin are removed from the rear of the case or from the main body of candy, the level of the contents drops down at the rear of the bin but the candy at the front of the bin overlying the inclined portion Il of the bottom wall is not affected and holds the body of candy higher at the front to maintain a continued attractive display of maximum extent.

This effect is brought about and results from the downwardly inclined portion Il of the bot tom in its relation to the rearwardly and upwardly inclined transparent panel so that the body of candy is maintained to a much higher point at the front of the bin than is possible Where the bottom wall is horizontal throughout and the level of the candy remains approxi mately the same throughout from front to rear as portions are withdrawn. A further advantage of the present structure lies in the fact that when the case is loaded at the beginning of a day, the contents at the front which has previously constituted the display merchandise can easily be mixed with fresh candy and a fresh supply pushed to the front for display purposes `reference to the particular constructionr shown herein, it is not conned to the details disclosed and` this application is intended to cover such modifications or departures as may come within the purposes of the improvements and the scope ofthe following claims.

We claim:

1. A display case including a bottom wall comprising a horizontal portion terminating at its forward end in a forwardly and downwardly inclined portion, supports in different horizontal planes located under the front end of said downwardly inclined portion and the rear end of said horizontal portion, a transparent panel inclined upwardly and rearwardly from the front end of said downwardly inclined portion at an acute angle thereto, a vertical partition member cornprising a body portionwith its lower edge supported on said horizontal portion of the bottom wall, a forwardly and downwardly inclined forward portion with its lower edge conforming to and supported on said downwardly inclined portion of the bottom wall, the upper edge of saidv forward portion of the partition member conforming to and located in juxtarelation to said transparent panel whereby said bottom wall, transparent panel, and vertical partition member form a bin the forward end of which inclines downwardly from the rear part of the bin, a flange extending laterally and perpendicularly away from the lower edge of the horizontal portion of the partition member and positionable on the horizontal portion of the aforesaid bottom wall, a flange extending laterally and perpendicularly in the opposite direction away from the lower edge of the downwardly inclined forward portion of the partition member and engaging the aforesaid downwardly inclined portion of said bottom wall, retaining bars extending endwise of the case at the front and rear of the bottom wall and each having a multiplicity of spaced vertically extending recesses, and said partition member being removably engageable with a selected recess in the front retaining bar by a forward movement relatively thereto and having interlocking means at its rear end selectively engageable with a recess in said rear retaining bar by a downward movement relatively thereto.

2. A display case including a bottom wall comprising a horizontal portion having at its forward end a forwardly and downwardly inclined portion terminating in a dished portion, supports in different horizontal planes located under the front end of said downwardly inclined portion and the rear end of said horizontal portion, a transparent panel inclined upwardly and rearwardly from said dished portion at an acute angle to said downwardly inclined portion of the bottom wall, a vertical partition member comprising a body portion with its lower edge supported on said horizontal portion of the bottom wall, a forwardly and downwardly inclined forward portion with its lower edge conforming to and supported on said downwardly inclined and dished portions of the bottom wall and its upper edge conforming to and located in juxtarelation to said transparent panel whereby said bottom wall. transparent panel, and vertical partition member form a bin the forward end of which inclines downwardly from the rear part of the bin, anges extending perpendicularly in opposite directions away from the lower edges of the horizontal and downwardly inclined portions of the partition member and positionable on the horizontal and downwardly inclined portions respectively of the bottom wall, a retaining bar extending endwise of the case at the top of said dished portion and having a series of vertically extending transversely arcuate recesses facing inwardly of the case, the partition member having a curved portion at its front end engageable with said dished portion beneath said retaining bar and a vertical edge positionable in one of said recesses, a retaining bar extending endwise of the case in rear of said partition member on said bottom having a series of vertically extending transversely arcuate recesses facing inwardly and said flange on the partition member which extends over the horizontal portion of the bottom having an arcuate portion at its rear end conforming to and positionable within one of said curved recesses of the retaining bar.

3. A display case including a bottom wall comprising a horizontal portion having at its forward end a forwardly and downwardly inclined portion terminating in a dished portion, supports in different horizontal planes located under the 'front end of said downwardly inclined portion and the rear end of said horizontal portion, a transp-arent panel inclined upwardly and rearwardly from said dished portion at an acute angle to said downwardly inclined portion of the bottom wall, a vertical partition member comprising a body portion with its lower edge supported on said horizontal portion of the bottom wall, a forwardly and downwardly inclined forward portion with its lower edge conforming to and supported on said downwardly inclined and dished portions of the bottom wall and its upper edge conforming to and located in juxtarelation to said transparent panel whereby said bottom wall, transparent panel, and vertical partition member form a bin the forward end of which inclines downwardly from the rear part of the bin, flanges extending perpendicularly in opposite directions away from the lower edges of the horizontal and downwardly inclined portions of the partition member and positionable on the horizontal and downwardly inclined portions respectively of the bottom wall, retaining bars extending endwise of the case at the front and rear of the bottom wall and each having a multiplicity of spaced vertically extending recesses, and said partition member being removably engageable with a selected recess in the front retaining bar by a forward movement relatively thereto and having interlocking means at its rear end selectively engageable with a recess in said rear retaining bar by a downward movement relatively thereto.

FREDERICK S. HOLDERLE. HARVEY C. R. HOLDERLE. NORBERT F. W. HOLDERLE.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,106,543 Burnham et al Aug. 11, 1914 1,565,889 Baker Dec. 15, 1925 1,716,557 Mann June 11, 1929 2,099,935 Kennedy Nov. 23, 1937 2,480,637 Dimling Aug. 30, 1949 2,522,483 Plack Sept. 12. 1950 

